LOWNES H. DAVIS was born at Jackson (Missouri) December 14, 1836.  He received a good education, being graduated at Yale College in 1860, and at the Louisville Law School in 1863.  After his graduation he began the practice of law at Jackson, and in 1868 was elected prosecuting attorney, serving for four years.  Later he was a member of the State Legislature and in 1878 was elected to the 46th Congress and was twice reelected.  He is a Democrat and recognized by his associates as a man of ability and uprightness of character.
--Source:  History of Southeast Missouri, by Robert Sidney Douglass, c1912 by Lewis Publishing Co., New York & Chicago, p549.